Dispensing ribbon segments



Oct. 4, 1960 J. A. DREHER DISPENSING RIBBON SEGMENTS Original Filed Aug. 8, 1952 IN V EN TOR.

HGENT Oct. 4, 1960 J. A. DREHER 2,954,776

DISPENSING RIBBON SEGMENTS Original Filed Aug. 8, 1952 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

HGEN T Oct. 4, 1960 J. A. DREHER DISPENSING RIBBON SEGMENTS Original Filed Aug. 8, 1952 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 HGEN T Oct. 4, 1960 J. A. DREHER DISPENSING RIBBON SEGMENTS ori inal Filed Aug. 8, 1952 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 lll Q s 3 Mn.

Oct. 4, 1960 J. A. DREHER 2,954,776

DISPENSING RIBBON SEGMENTS Qriginal Filed Aug. 8 1952 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Unite 1 DISPENSING RIBBON SEGMENTS Original application Aug. 8, 1952, Ser. No. 303,210. Divided and this application Feb. 27, 1958, Ser. No. 723,074

4 Claims. (Cl. 131-147) This invention relates to dispensing segments of a tenuous ribbon and more particularly to unwinding a roll of such ribbon and delivering equal lengths of the unwound ribbon to a desired work locus.

The problem of automatically taking off a soft and tender sheet from a roll thereof and severing equal-sized segments from the unrolled sheet which are deposited in a smooth condition in a predetermined work area has rarely been encountered in commercial operations but now has become particularly important with the recent development of tobacco sheets which, as disclosed in US. Patents 2,592,553 and 2,592,554 to W. G. Frankenburg and P. W. Garbo, are made by mixing dry-ground tobacco with a highly viscous aqueous solution of a binder to form a paste, spreading the paste in a thin layer and drying the layer to leave a coherent film or tobacco sheet. The ribbon segments are desired in the manufacture of smoking products; for instance, such pieces of tobacco sheet may be used as tobacco bunch binders in the manufacture of cigars. Prior mechanism for the purposes contemplated herein have failed to function successfully with a tenuous ribbon because these mechanisms depend on an appreciable tensile strength in the ribbon for proper operation.

In accordance with this invention, segments of a weak and limp ribbon are dispensed from a roll thereof in a smooth condition in a predetermined work area by the steps of gently pulling out the starting or leading end of the ribbon away from the ribbon roll and over the desired work area while the roll is rotatably held in a fixed position, severing from the pulled out portion of the ribbon the desired segment while the pulled out portion is held in a smooth condition in the predetermined work area and repeating the pulling and severing steps using the new leading end of the ribbon which is formed with each severing step. In short, the invention contemplates means for rotatably holding the roll of ribbon in a fixed position, shuttle means adapted to move reciprocatingly away from and toward the fixed position of the ribbon roll, roll means mounted on the shuttle means operative to hold the leading end of the ribbon Without rotating while the shuttle means is moving in one of its two reciprocating directions, and to rotate and thereby pay out the ribbon while the shuttle means is moving in the other of its two reciprocating directions, and cutting means operative to sever a desired ribbon segment from the payed out ribbon at the end of each movement of the shuttle means during which the roll means rotates.

For a better understanding of the invention, reference is now made to the accompanying drawings which illustrate two preferred embodiments with like reference characters indicating the same or like parts and of which:

1 Figure 1 is an elevation of apparatus forming one embodiment, hereinafter designated as the vacuum roll machine;

Figure 2 is essentially a right end view of the vacuum roll machine;

, Figure 3 is a sectional View taken along the line 3-3 of Figure 1; I

' htates Patent 6 "ice Figure 4 is an enlarged partial elevation like Figure 1 but shows the vacuum roll of the machine in section as indicated by the line 44 of Figure 2;

Figure 5 is a sectional plan of the vacuum roll machine taken along the line 5--5 of Figure 1;

Figure 6 is a diagrammatic elevation showing the principal movements of the vacuum roll machine during operation;

Figure 7 is an elevation of apparatus forming another embodiment of the invention, hereinafter designated as the contact roll machine;

Figure 8 is essentially a plan of the contact roll machine;

Figure 9 is a sectional view taken along the line 99 of Figure 7;

Figure 10 is a partial sectional view taken along the line 1010 of Figure 7; and

Figure 11 is another partial sectional view taken along the line 1'111 of Figure 9.

The vacuum roll machine comprises a supporting frame A having two horizontal bars 10, 11 and two vertical bars 12, 13 which are screwed or otherwise rigidly fastened together to form a rectangular frame. As shown in Figure 1, supporting frame A may be mounted on post pedestals 14, 15 to which it is fastened by bolt clamps 16, 17. Upper bar 11 has a bracket 18 in which an axle rod 19 is rigidly held by bolt clamp 20. Axle 19 carries a rotatable sleeve 21 which is provided with two arms 22, 23. At the end of arm 22 is mounted a freely rotatable idler roll 24, while arm 23 carries a counterweight 25 which may be set closer to or farther from sleeve 21 as desired. A rotatable bearing sleeve 19a surrounds axle 1 19 and supports two spool ends 26, 27 between which a roll 28 of the tenuous ribbon i inserted. The innet tapered faces 26a, 27a of spool ends 26, 27, are pressed into frictional engagement with the ends of hollow core 29 on which the ribbon roll 28 is wound. Spool end 27 is pressed onto one end of bearing sleeve 19a and spool end 26 is adjustably fastened by a set screw onto the other end of Sleeve 19a. Thus, ribbon roll 28 rotates as a unit with spool ends 26, 27 and sleeve 19a about axle 19 and is kept on axle 19 by collar 30 which is adjustably clamped on axle 19. A sensitive brake to control the rotation of roll 28 is provided by rigid bracket 32 extending from frame A of the machine and holding one end of a leather strip or brake band 33 which is looped around a circumferential groove 31 on spool end '27 and which has its other end attached to a light coil spring 34 suspended from peg 35 on arm 22. As hown in Figure 1, ribbon R from roll 28 loops around idler roll 24 and extends downwardly to lower portions of the machine. When a downward pull is exerted on the ribbon, idler 24 moves clockwise since it is attached to rotatable sleeve 21 by arm 22; such clockwise movement of idler 24 causes slackening of the loop comprising band 33 and spring 34 with the result that ribbon roll 28 with spool ends 26, 27 and bearing sleeve 19a is free to rotate on axle 19 and the ribbon is unwound from roll 28 as it is pulled over idler 24 toward the lower portion of the machine. When the pull on the ribbon is stopped, idler 24 moves counterclockwise to its original position under the influence of counterweight 25 which has also been displaced clockwise while the ribbon was being pulled. Ob-

on 'bar 37. The opposite ends of post 40 pass slidably through bearing blocks 43, 44 mounted on bars 10, 11, respectively, of the supporting frame. The tab ends of bars 36, 37 project behind bars 12, 13, and are in sliding contact with the back faces of bars 12, 13. A clamp block 45 is fixed on post 40 and link bar 46 pivotally hanges therefrom, the lower end of link bar 46 being pivotally attached to cam lever or hell crank 4-7. The corner of crank 47 is pegged to bar 13 by pivotal rod 48 mounted on bar 13 while the lowermost end of crank 47 is provided with a roller bearing 49 which rides against the periphery of cam disk A driven shaft 51 passes through bar 13 and imparts rotation to cam disk 50 mounted thereon with the result that when roller 49 is riding on the smaller radius arc of cam disk Stl (as shown in Figure 1) movable frame B with central post 40 drops to its lowest position, but when roller 49 is riding on the larger radius arc of cam disk 59 movable frame B is raised to its highest position, the vertical reciprocating motion of movable frame B being transmitted fromcam disk 50 through bell crank 47 and link bar '46 which is pivotally attached to central post 49 of the movable frame.

A rod 52 is held in spaced, parallel relation to the face of bar 36 by clamp blocks 53, 54 mounted on bars 33, 39, respectively. Another rod 55 is similarly held in spaced, parallel relation to bar 37 by clamp blocks 56, 57 mounted on bars 38, 39, respectively. Rod 52 passes through slide block 555 and rod 55 passes through slide block 59, slide blocks 58, 59 being connected to one another by plate 63 to form a slidable frame C.

A link bar 61 is pivotally attached at one of its ends to slide block 58 of slidable frame C and at its other end to cam arm 62. The lowermost end of cam arm 62 is pivotally pegged to bar 1.3 by bolt 63 While the corner of angulated cam arm 62 is provided with a roller 64 which rides in cam track 65 of internal face cam 66 that is mounted on driven shaft 51. To steady the operation of cam 66, a support bar 67 is held in spaced, parallel relation to bar 13 by bolts 48, 63 and is provided with hes 68 to receive the free end of driven shaft 51. Thus, when driven shaft 51 rotates, not only do cam disk 5% and bell crank 47 cause movable frame B to oscillate vertically but also cam 66 and cam arm 62 cause slidable frame C to oscillate horizontally. It is clear that slidable frame C with its associated elements provides shuttle means adapted for reciprocating motion relative 4 bearing against shoulders 85, 86 on shaft 77. Casing end 84 is provided with gear teeth 87 which mesh with the teeth of gear wheel 72 so that rotation of gear wheel 72 imparts rotation to cylindrical casing 82. As aforesaid, gear wheel 72 can rotateonly. clockwise and, therefore, meshing gear 87 causes cylindrical casing 32 to rotate on fixed, hollow shaft 77 only counterclockwise. The free, open end of shaft 77 is used for attaching thereto a flexible hose (not shown) connected to a vacuum pump. Thus, when a vacuum is drawn in hollow shaft 77, a vacuum is also drawn in that portion of the annular space between shaft 77 and casing 82 which lies to the left of ribs. 79, 80 (Figure 4) since that portion of the annular space communicates with the core of hollow shaft 77 through aperture 81. Since cylindrical casing 82 is provided with a multiplicity of perforations 88, air will be sucked in through each perforation 88 while it ,is rotatively traveling counterclockwise from rib 80 to rib 79 over the vacuumized portion of the annular space between shaft 77 and casing 82. In the continued rotative travel of each perforation 88 from the point of radial alignment with rib 79 to the point of radial'alignrnent with rib 80, air is not sucked in through such perforation 88 because the portion ofthe annular space between shaft 77 and casing 82 which lies to the right of ribs 79, 80 (Figure 4) does not communicate with the vacuumized core of hollow shaft 77 To operate the vacuum roll machine, the tenuous ribbon R from roll 28 is looped over idler roll 24 and under idler roll 89'which rotates freely on axle 90 mounted on slide block 58 of slidable frame C and finally ribbon R is looped over rotatable casing 32 of the vacuum roll. With an operating vacuum pump connected by flexible tubing attached to the open. end of hollow shaft 77, air is sucked in through the vacuumized perforations 38 of casing 82 which lie to the left of ribs 79, 80 on shaft 77 (Figure 4) with the result that the portion of ribbon R which loops over casing 82 and covers the vacuumized perforations 88 adheres to the outer surface of casing 82. Since the invention not only dispenses a soft and tender ribbon from a roll thereof as a smooth flat sheet but also cuts the ribbon into a plurality of sheets of equal length,

i a fixed knife blade 91 is so positioned relative to casing 32 that the knife edge of blade 91 contacts the outer surface of casing 82 when slidable frame C which carries the vacuum roll is at the end of its sliding travel to the left and simultaneously when movable frame B which carries slidable frame C is at the end of its downward movement.

With ribbon R looped over casing 82 so that the leading end of ribbon R is contiguous with knife blade 91 and p with vacuum holding the looped portion of ribbon R to the outer surface of casing 32, the machine is ready for to left as viewed in Figure 1 and thus causes gear Wheel f 72 to rotate clockwise together with gear wheel 70. A large pawl 75 is suspended from plate and locks with the single tooth of ratchet 73 when slidable frame S slides from left to right to stop any rotation of gear wheel 72 while wheel ill turns counterclockwise and pawl 74 slips over the surface of ratchet 73. Pawl 75 slips over the surface of ratchet 73 when slidable frame C is sliding from right to left and gear wheels 70, 72 are both rotating clockwise, being locked together by pawl 74 and ratchet 73.

Slide block 58 of slidable frame C has a dependent tab portion 76 with a recess to receive the plugged end of hollow shaft 77. Hollow shaft 77 is held in a fixed position in tab 76 by set screw 78. As shown in Figure 4, shaft 77 has two longitudinal ribs 79, St) and a slit aperture 31. cylindrical casing 82 is rotatably mounted on shaft 77 with the ends 83, 84 of casing 82 operation. Referring toFigure 1, when power is applied to shaft 51 to rotate it clockwise, cam disk 5% and bell crank 47 raise movable frame B and simultaneously internal face cam 66 and cam arm 62 pull slidable frame C to the right. While frame B is held in the raised position and frame C is being pulled to the right, gear wheel 70 is being rotated counterclockwise by gear rack 69 but during such counterclockwise motion of gear wheel 70, gear wheel 72 and casing 82 which has gear teeth 87 meshing with those of wheel 72 do not rotate and pawl 75 locks into the single tooth of ratchet 73. At the end of substantially one-half turn of cams 50, 66, frame B is dropped. to its lowered position andthe movement of frame C toward the right is terminated. During the sec- 0nd half turn of cams 50, 66, frame B remains in its lowered position while frame C is pushed to the left by cam arm 62 and link bar 61. While frame C is moving toward the left, gear rack 69 is rotating gear wheel 70 clockwise with the result that pawl 74 on wheel 70 locks into the single tooth of ratchet 73, causing gear wheel 72 to turn clockwise and casing 82 to turn counterclockwise. When casing 82 is rotated counterclockwise; the

leading end of ribbon R is moved from the point of radial alignment with rib 79 toward the right but to the right of rib 79 casing 82 is not vacuumized and, therefore, ribbon R falls or peels off casing 82. At the end of the second half turn of shaft 51, casing 82 has contacted knife blade 91, thus severing ribbon R along the line of contact, and frame C has terminated its sliding movement to the left. From this point on, the cyclic operation repeats itself, starting with the raising of frame B and the pulling of frame C toward the right as already described. As shown in Figure 4, it is advisable to omit perforations 88 in the portion of casing 82 which rides over knife blade 91 to avoid the possibility of blade 91 pushing parts of ribbon R into the perforations so that ribbon R tends to stick to casing 82, thereby impeding the desired peeling off of ribbon R when its leading end is moved to the right of rib 79.

The contact roll embodiment of the invention shown in Figures 7 to 11, inclusive, comprises a supporting frame A having two longitudinal bars 101, 102 and two end bars 103, 104 which are rigidly fastened together to form a rectangular frame. Supporting frame A may be mounted on post pedestals 14, 15 to which it is fastened by bolt clamps 16, 17. Longitudinal bars 101, 102 support a bearing bracket 18 and its associated members which have been described in connection with the vacuum roll machine. Extending down from end bars 103, 104 are vertical bars 105, 106, respectively.

Two parallel slide rods 107, 108 at a level beneath that of longitudinal bars 101, 102; have their ends fastened to end bars 103, 104. Mounted on rods 107, 108 is a slidable frame C which comprises two parallel slide blocks 109, 110, provided with apertures through which slide rods 107, 108 pass. As shown in Figures 9 and 10, the apertures in blocks 109, 110 to receive square rod 107 are slots while the apertures to receive round rod 108 are circular holes. Blocks 109, 110 are held together in spaced relation to one another by horizontal plate 111. Four vertical bars 112, 113, 114, 115 depend from the four corners of plate 111. Bar 114 is directly behind bar 112 in Figure 7 and therefore does not appear in the drawing. An idler roll 116 has its bearings in the lower ends of bars 112, 114 while the lower ends of bars 113, 115 provide bearings for cont-act rolls 117, 118. The ends of axle 123 of roll 118 extend through bars 113, 115 and have gear wheels 119, 120 mounted thereon. A ratchet 121 is keyed to axle 123 of contact roll 118 between bar 113 and gear wheel 119. A lock pawl 122 is mounted onthe face of bar 113 to cooperate with ratchet 121 and prevent clockwise rotation (Figure 7) of ratchet 121, roll 118 and gear wheel 120, all of which are keyed to axle 123. Gear wheel 119 is rotatably mounted on axle 123 and held thereon by retainer screw 124. Paw1-125 is attached to the inner face of gear wheel 119, andoperates to engage the teeth of ratchet 121 only when gear wheel 119 is turning counterclockwise (Figure 7). Thus, when gear wheel 119 rotates counterclockwise, pawl 125 locks into ratchet 121 and axle 123 and all other elements keyed thereto also rotate counterclockwise, but when gear wheel 119 rotates clockwise, pawl 125 slips over ratchet 121 and pawl 122 locks into ratchet 121 so that axle 123 and all other elements keyed thereto are without rotation. Lower contact roll 117 is keyed to an axle 126 which passes through bearing blocks 127, 128 which fit in slots in the lower ends of bars 113, 115, respectively, and are held in these slots by spring clips 129, 130. Axle 126 extends beyond bearing block 128 to support a gear wheel 131 keyed thereto. The teeth of gear wheels 120, 131 mesh and since, as aforesaid, gear wheel 120 can only rotater counterclockwise (Figure 7) it follows that gear wheel 131, axle 126 and roll 117 can only rotate clockwise.

A horizontal bar 132 fastened to the lower ends of vertical bars 105, 106 of supporting frame A carries a 6 gear'rack 133 which meshes with gear wheel 119. A driving arm 134 attached to slide block of slidable frame C projects beyond the side of supporting frame A (Figure 8 and may be connected to any reciprocating drive means (not shown) so that the entire slidable framev counterclockwise and pawl engages ratchet 121 cans-- ing roll 118 and gear wheel 120 to rotate also counterclockwise and gear wheel131 and roll 117 to rotate clock wise.

Both contact rolls 117, 118 have a plurality of circumferential grooves which ride over two sets of stationary wires held horizontally at the nip between rolls 117, 118. The set of wires 135 which fit in the grooves of roll 117 are spot welded to bar 136 fastened to the lower ends of vertical bars 113, 115, while the set of wires 137 which fit in the grooves of I011 118 are spot welded to bar 138 also fastened to bars 113, 115.

A knife blade 139 is pivotally fastened to bar 113 of slidable frame C by spring-loaded bolt 140. Blade 139 moves down across the sharp edge of cutting bar 141 so that ribbon R is severed between these two elements 139, 141. Cutting bar 141 is positioned on the discharge side of contact rolls 117, '118 so that ribbon R delivered by these rolls slides over bar 141 (Figure ll). A discharge apron 142 is fastened against the bottom of cutting bar 141 and serves to facilitate the laying down of ribbon R in a smooth condition on a work area as slidable frame C moves toward the left (Figure 7) and contact rolls 117, 118 rotate to pay out or dispense ribbon R. Blade 139 has a lever arm 143 which is held up by spring 144 against the lower edges of slanted bar 145 attached to vertical bars 105, 106 of supporting frame A. As frame C is moved to the right (Figure 7), arm 143 sliding along the lower end of bar 145 is thereby pushed downward with the result that blade 139 is raised and a spring-loaded latch 146 snaps over thetop of lowered arm 143 to lock blade 139 in the raised position. When frame C moves toward the left (Figure 7 blade 139 remains raised until a stop 147 which is adjustably bolted to slide bar 107 trips latch 146 allowing blade 139 to snap down across the edge of cutting bar 141 because of the upward pull on arm 143 by spring 144.

In the operation of the contact roll embodiment of the invention, tenuous ribbon R from roll 28 is looped over idler roll 24, around idler roll 150 mounted on bar 103 of supporting frame A and under idler roll 116 of slidable frame C. The leading end of ribbon R is threaded between the two sets of wires 135, 137 and through the nip between contact rolls 117, 118 so that the leading end of ribbon R lies along the sharpedge of cutting bar 141 (Figure 11). Starting with slidable frame C at the end of its travel toward the right, the reciprocating drive means (not shown) acting on arm 134 pulls frame C toward the left (Figure 7) and during this movement knife blade 139 is held in the raised position by spring-loaded latch 146 while gear rack 133 acting on gear wheel 119 causes roll 118 to rotate counterclockwise and roll 117 clockwise with the result that ribbon R is discharged toward the right by contact rolls 117, 118 (Figure 7) as frame C travels toward the left. When frame C comes to the end of its travel to the left, stop 147 trips latch 146 and knife blade 139 swings down across the sharp edge of cutting bar 141 thereby severing ribbon R. Frame C then commences its return travel to the right with the result that gear wheel 119 rotates clockwise on gear rack 133 While contact rolls 117, 118 hold ribbon R therebetween without rotating. During the travel of frame C toward the right, ribbon R is being pulled from roll 28 over idler rolls 24, 150, 116 and slanted bar 145 7 on frame A is lowering lever arm 143 thereby raising blade 139. At the end of the movement of frame, C to the right, latch 146 snaps over arm 143 to hold blade 139 in the raised position and the unrolling ofribbon roll 28 stops. Frame C then repeatsits movement to the left as already described.

The work area in which each ribbon segment is deposited in a smooth, wrinkle-free condition in accordance with this invention may comprise various mechanisms for the further handling or utilization of the ribbon segments. For instance, referring to the contact roll machine, a conveyor belt may be positioned under slidable frame C to receive each ribbon segment as it is dispensed by the machine and to convey it in a direction at right angles to the movement of the slidable frame C. The operation of such a conveyor belt would be controlled through known mechanical or electrical devices that in reponse to movements of the contact roll machine would set the conveyor in motion while slidable frame C is traveling toward the right (Figure 7) and would stop the conveyor While frame C is traveling toward the left and isdepositing another ribbon segment on the conveyor. Similarly, part of a rotatable table or turret may lie under frame C to receive each dispensed ribbon segment; after the deposition of each ribbon segment, the turret revolves and carries the deposited ribbon segment away from under the contact roll machine to a new work locus. As an example of such operation with ribbon segments of tobacco sheet material, each segment conveyed by a belt or turret from under the contact roll machine to a new work locus would there be picked up as a cigar binder by a vacuumized or suction binder carrier (such as shown in US. Patent 1,543,874) and transportedto and laid on the chianti belt of a bunch-rolling mechanism of the type commonly used in cigar-making machines.

It is frequently advisable that the work area on which the ribbon segments are deposited pursuant to this invention have a perforated surface communicating with a subjacent suction box. In this way, .the ribbon issuing from the dispenser of this invention will adhere to the perforated surface immediately upon contacting the same and will be held there in a smooth, wrink1e-free condition until the deposited ribbon segment is utilized or transferred to a new work locus. Obviously, when the ribbon segment is about to be utilized or removed from the perforated surface, adherence of the ribbon segment thereto will be overcome by temporarily breaking the suction in the subjacent box.

Various modifications of the invention will be apparent from the foregoing disclosure. For instance, bracket 18 which holds the spool of ribbon does not need to be.

mounted on supporting frame A and may have an independent pedestal. This is also true of stop 147 which is illustrated in Figure 7 as being attached to slide bar 107. Also, the vacuum r011 machine may be altered to omit the vertical movements obtained through the incorpora-.

tion of movable frame B anditslassociated elements like cam lever 47; in such case, the fixed knife blade ,91

would be replaced by one which moves up. and strikes the underside of casing 82 when frame C completes its movement to the left (Figure 1) and then drops away from casing 82 when frame C starts its movement to th right.

- In view of the many possible modifications and variations of the invention which will occur to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention, only such limitations should be imposed as are indicated by the appended claims.

This application is a division of .copending application Serial No. 303,210, filed August 8, 1952.

What is claimed is:

1. The process of applying lengths of a weak and soft ribbon from a roll thereof in a smooth condition on a predetermined work area, said roll being rotatable at a fixed position, which comprises the steps of holding the leading portion of said ribbon against a roller, moving the thus held leading portion and said roller away from said roll and over said work area without effecting rotation of said roller, rolling said roller back over the length of said ribbon pulled out over said work area toapply said length in a smooth condition on said work area, and repeating the aforesaid steps using the new leading portion of said ribbon which begins where said roller stopped rolling back. I

2. The process of claim 1 wherein the leading portion of the ribbon is held against the roller with suction, and the length of said ribbon pulled out over the work area is held on said work area with suction.

3. The process of applying lengths of a weak and soft ribbon from a roll thereof in a smooth condition on a' I rolling down said length on said work area, and repeating the aforesaid steps using the new leading portion of said ribbon contiguous to the applied length of said ribbon. 4. The process of claim 3 wherein the length of the ribbon applied on the work area is held thereon with suction during the rolling down of said length.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

